Stories of our families are like blossoms. Some are beautiful stories full of life. Others are not so beautiful, like spent blossoms. Some are just buds as we try to find more information about them. Other stories may be like the loose stones under the tree-not related to the family at all.

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

X marks the spot where Lionel Edgar Laws was born on February 12 1868.

This was an email sent by Helen Butler to many Laws descendants on 2 September 2010 and she has kindly given me permission to publish it here.

LONDON to BRISBANE in
141 days non-stop.

On Christmas day 1867 William and Sarah Laws
and 3 of their children left England for Australia in the immigrant ship “Bayswater”.The eldest son William Camper Laws was left
in the care of Sarah’s parents.

They left from central London, probably from St Katherine’s
Dock.The small steam tug would take
them to Gravesend, 50 kilometres down
the Thames along all its curves and bends . At the first bendthey pass Wapping and Shadwell whereWilliam was born and grew up, but had
probably not seen for many years.There
would be much to see on both sides of the river.Only one of them wouldever see these things again.Only Lily would return.

The Laws family paid
their fares and travelled Steerage, the cheapest berths, conserving their
fundsSo they had no cabin, only dormitory
accommodation with double-decker single bunks in one area with many others.
William was 38 years old, Sarah was 32,Florence
7, Lilian 6, and Ernest 3. And Sarah was very pregnant.

It was to be over
four and a half months before they ended their voyage on the other sideof the world, where they would sail upanother river along all its curves and bends,
30 kilometres to the centre of another city – Brisbane.

THE ROUTE

This map is taken
from Don Charlwood’s book, “The Long Farewell – Settlers Under Sail .”Ittells
the story ofimmigration to the
Australian colonies through the nineteenth century. There was the Old Admiralty
Route which looked shorter, but was not shorter and there was the new Great
Circle Route which used winds and currents to more advantage, and was much
faster. Many of the Clipper ships were coming to Australia in 70 days and less,
using this route. The ‘Bayswater’ used a composite route, going a fair way
south to catch the Roaring Forties for the easting.But it still took 115 days actual sailing
time on the open sea. Only after the Suez Canal was opened in the next year
1869, could steamships travel to Australia and compete with the Clipper Ships in speed and with more comfort and more
safety.

The red line shows approximately the course of the
‘BAYSWATER” in 1868, sketched from eight positions noted in the report of the voyage
printed in the Brisbane Courieron
Thursday 30 April 1868 Also using the exact position of the boat when the baby
Lionel was born.

THE SHIP BAYSWATER

“Lloyd’s Register of British & Foreign
Shipping” for 1870/71 records the “Bayswater’ was a SHIP of 1256 tons with 3 decks.
Its length was 168.6 feet,breadth 37.6 feet,and depth 21.7 feet.It was built in New York in 1847.It is denoted as a SHIP, so it is a sailing
vessel, not a steamer.

The book “Log of Logs” has some further
information. The “Bayswater is denoted as a fully rigged sailing ship—with 3
masts and all the sails and not assisted by steam power. This ship was bought
by the Black Ball Line shortly before its first voyage to Queensland in 1864, when it was renamed“Bayswater” In 1864 it brought 281 immigrants to Keppel
Bay ,Rockhampton.In1866, Bayswater
brought a similar large number to
Rockhampton. In 1868 it made its third and last voyage to Queensland but this
time to Brisbane and with only 58
immigrants.

No picture of the ship has been found.It is very likely there is no surviving
picture.

GOVERNMENT RECORDS

The Queensland
government had many different schemes to attract immigrants.So there was much official paperwork about
the people, the boats they came on, the
related land orders, etc.Thesepapers are now in the
Queensland State Archives, if surviving, and also many on microfilm in libraries. The QSA has
the 1868` Bayswater ‘s list of all passengers by name, and the medical
officer’s report.

There they are – William and Sarah Laws with Florence, Lily,
Ernest ,and now the infant Lionel.

LOG OF THE VOYAGE

The log goes with the
boat and the Captain, so it is lucky to survive til now .The Greenwich Maritime museum has the “Bayswater”
log for the 1864 voyage and all the weekly newspapers printed on board.[ John
Oxley Library Brisbane has Numbers 1 to 16 of these }

Unfortunately, there
is nothingfor the 1866 or 1868
voyages.So there is nothing to tell us
the daily detail of their journey.